Ralph Fiennes is eager to know what Pope Leo XIV thought of the movie Conclave after he experienced the historical moment in real life.
“My thoughts are questions. Did he enjoy it? Did he just shrug his shoulders and say halfway through, ‘This is rubbish?’ Or did he get something from it?” Fiennes, 62, told Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday, June 18. “I’d like to know what he thought.”
Fiennes added that he imagined many members of the Catholic Church and its cardinals thought Conclave “was nothing like reality,” but he’s still proud of the elements he believes they portrayed accurately.
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“But I think we did get the rituals right,” he said. “I’m sure the power politics was amped up for entertainment purposes, but I hope that he saw something of value in it.”
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Fiennes starred in Conclave as a cardinal named Thomas Lawrence who organizes a conclave to elect the next pope. (A conclave is a gathering of the cardinals to appoint a new pope of the Catholic Church.)
Throughout the film, Thomas finds himself investigating the candidates’ secrets and scandals to determine who will be the next leader of the Church. The political thriller also stars Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto and Isabella Rossellini.
Overall, Fiennes couldn’t help but gush over the fact that Pope Leo (real name Robert Francis Prevost) watched the Oscar-nominated film.
“I guess if the next pope watched Conclave, of course, at a simplistic level, I’m delighted,” he reflected. “But I mean, I want him to like it. If he didn’t like it, what can I do? I’ve done it!”
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Pope Leo, 69, was selected as the new leader of the Catholic Church last month following the death of Pope Francis. Pope Francis died after suffering a cerebral stroke, which was followed by a coma and “irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.” He was 88.
Pope Leo’s selection made history as he is the first-ever pope from America. After being chosen as the next leader of the Church, Pope Leo’s brother John Prevost went viral when he revealed that his brother watched Conclave before the real-life event.
“I said, ‘Are you ready for this? Did you watch the movie Conclave so you know how to behave?’ He had just finished watching the movie Conclave, so he knew how to behave,” Prevost recalled to NBC News in May. “So it’s that kind of stuff, because I wanted to take his mind off of it. You know, laugh about something, because this is now an awesome responsibility.”
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